Feathers of a Muse
by WingsofRequiem
Summary: Random pieces of writing, usually ranging from 200ish words to 1000 words, that I sometimes get flashes of inspiration to write. Some are short stories or drabbles, others are more like they were written by a champion himself/herself, and others are poems. Contains multiple pairings. Requests are taken. Latest Chapter: Diana and Leona
1. My name is Quinn

"It's been weeks since that stupid, stupid Noxian gave his life for mine. He was the enemy, an assassin trained from childhood to be nothing but a weapon. Yet, when the deception of Swain arose , the Du Couteau family was the first to be brought down. Talon could not protect his family, he held that guilt to himself for many years. But as soon as all hell had broken loose, he came for me.

Demacia had no idea that Jarvan Lightshield the Fourth, our crown prince, had died long ago, replaced by the deceiver known as LeBlanc, masquerading in his image. When Swain took over Noxus, LeBlanc took over Demacia. She culled the best of us before we even knew what had hit us. The Crownguards... The Half Dragon... The Night Hunter... The Laurents. All dead, before anyone knew.

The only reason I was alive was because Talon got to me. I should have shot him with my crossbow the moment he arrived in my room, but Valor stopped me. Valor never hesitated when facing an enemy, so it surprised me that he stopped me from firing upon Talon. I trusted Valor, and he trusted Talon. I escaped with him, and then I had to watch my beloved city burn to the ground as anarchy and turmoil took over. Noxus had won, through deceit and treachery.

Talon had lost his family to the deception of Swain. I don't know why he saved me, but he only remarked that I was the last person left that he remotely cared about, and that too simply out of respect. But the years we spent together, on the run from the New Noxus, we got to know each other better... Hell, we cared about each other. Maybe even loved each other. The nights we spent in bed was a much needed reprieve from the chaos of the days we spent running.

And then they found us. And Talon... The fool... He had always spoken about living by the blade and never having honor. Yet that was all bullshit, it seemed, because when it was obvious we were not getting away, the bastard sent me off to run by myself, tricking me by telling me he would come after me. Instead, he led them away from me, saving my life.

I found his body later on in the night when I went out looking for me. He hadn't died easily. He had fought, and taken down all of his attackers before succumbing to his wounds. I couldn't help but feel pride for my fallen lover, even as tears rolled down my cheeks. In his memory and honor, I took his blades. He had taught me to fight with them and I would kill the ones responsible for all of this with his blades and his teachings.

This is my last entry into my journal. If anyone finds this... My name is Quinn. And I will be the one to kill Swain. For all the deaths he has caused. For Jarvan. For Garen and his family. For the Du Couteau Sisters. For all the demacians and noxians who died to his tyranny. And...

For Talon."


	2. By your side

I remember when I saved you from death. When you rushed in to a battle you could not win and came out with a lifelong scar. I remember fighting one handed against a squad, holding you close and safe with my other, never letting a blade come near you though many cut me. I remember sitting by your bed day and night, waiting for you to wake, content to just watch you breathe. I fed you, I took care of you, I protected you. I was your shadow, I was always with you.

Then peace was formed between the states. And you began to see Him. I felt hollow. I realized then what you meant to me. I realized I loved you. But I said nothing. I watched him court you. I watched him woo you. I watched you fall in love with another man, yet still remained silent.  
Because he could give you all that would make you happy. He could give you a life. I could not. He could further your status of nobility. I could not. He could make you smile and laugh. I could not.

In the end, I was nothing but the shadow I had trained to be. I loved you so much, I watched you love another for the sake of your happiness. I loved you so much it destroyed me. Yet I said nothing, and remained by your side.  
Because you were the Blade and I was your shadow. Now and forever, I would always be by your side, even if you were by another's.


	3. Yet I am still cold

"I stand there staring at the blood  
That coats my body, coats my arm.  
I'm cold, dead and empty inside.  
Killing you is the only way I'm warm.

Forgive me father, for I have sinned  
When I cut your head off, were you sad?  
Forgive me brother, you pathetic little thing  
When I took all from you what I never had  
Forgive me rodent, disgrace of our clans  
Slaughtered even though you were not a threat  
And  
Forgive me pupil, I could not stop  
Dead on the ground, my only regret.

I felt empty, even though I had won.  
Because what I had done, could not be undone."


	4. Company

Her eyes were drawn to him yet again. For the fifth night in a row, Diana had been sitting upon her secret spot, high on the rooftop of the broken down Ionian temple. She didn't know why she had come here to begin with. After her exile from the Solari, and the bloodbath she had followed it up with, she had headed her Ionia. And here she was. She didn't live here, not exactly… But this was where she came to spend her nights, meditating under the moon's silver glow.

And for the fifth time, she opened her eyes at the presence of another. Glancing down, she saw him again. He had always come here every other day. He never noticed her, never looked up at the rooftop to see her standing there, watching him. He simply walked out into the ruined balcony of the temple, the one which her perch oversaw, and sat down on the bottom steps, staring out into the horizon, where the inky night sky met the indigo expanse of water. I watched him as he stared. He was an odd one. He wasn't exactly human, that was obvious. He was covered in some kind of black, purplish… furlike substance, that also seemed very liquid in form. It covered his arms and the lower half of his body. His hair was stark white, his skin pale. She knew who he was. What she didn't know was why he kept coming back here and doing nothing.

"It's peaceful here, wouldn't you say, Lunari?" He said, or rather, he spat. His voice, albeit none threatening, was curt and cold, like he resented saying anything. But she was surprised that he knew she was here, watching him.  
"Did you honestly think I never noticed your presence?" Varus asked, turning his head to the side to stare at her over his shoulder with one eye. He had pale violet irises, and Diana had to blink to rid herself of the surprise.

She jumped down from the rooftop, landing quietly upon the floor, at the top of the stairs. She wore the armor of her ancestors, yet did not carry her blade. Likewise, she did not see Varus' bow on him, though she was sure he could form it if he chose. But Varus made no movement aside from his eye following her as she descended.

"Why do you come here?" Diana asked.  
"Am I not welcome?" He asked, his voice dark and filled with venom, but Diana could tell it wasn't intentional. She had heard of his story, the corruption in his veins. She could bet that he didn't intend to sound so aggressive or bitter, yet his bitterness spoke volumes about him. It connected to her in an odd way.  
"You are. Anyone is. This temple does not belong to me." Diana said.  
"But would you welcome Solari into the temple?" He asked. Diana stiffened as her silver eyes hardened a fraction.

"No… I wouldn't." She answered.

"Then you should be careful of how you phrase yourself, Lunari." He snarled at her as Diana narrowed her eyes, her patience wearing thin.

"If you simply came here to insult me, I would suggest you leave." Diana said as Varus stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"That is not my intent." He muttered darkly as Diana crossed her arms, looking down at him. He went back to staring at the sky.

"They say the moonlight can heal all wounds." He said, and his voice was, at that moment, so tender and vulnerable that it completely threw Diana off.

"Yes… It can…" Diana said, feeling the words hit her deep within as well.

"Have you healed, Lunari?" He asked.

"Have you?" She retorted.

Varus simply shook his head. "I can take a vase and shatter it upon the floor… And even if I piece it together, it will never be the same." He then looked up at the sky. "We all hurt, Lunari. And we all have our ways to cope with the pain."

Diana felt an ache in her chest as she slowly walked down the steps. Varus seemed slightly surprised when she sat down beside him, judging from the way he tensed and glanced over at her. But then he slowly relaxed as she brought her knees up and hugged them, staring up at the moon along with Varus.

"That doesn't mean we have to cope with it alone, Varus." She said quietly.

Varus stayed silent, and so did she. They said nothing else for the rest of the night, simply choosing to stare up at the sky, lost in their thoughts and bask in the gentle caress of the full moon. And Diana had to admit… The company felt nice after such a long time of solitude.


	5. There is only death Mine, or Yours

My whole life's purpose has been to hunt you down. To make you pay. To bring justice to where it needs. My whole life, centered on you. And now, that I finally meet my blade on yours, as our blood spills on the sands below, a striking thought occurs to me.  
You are my sole reason for existing. If I finally kill you, what more reason do I have to continue to live? I would be more lost than I ever was if I accomplish what I set out for.

Maybe that is why I can never strike that killing blow, turning the blade so it only glances a hit on you. Maybe you feel the same way, because you had your chances to end me yet you swayed your blade.

Are we cursed to forever be destined to cross our blades and strike at each other until one of us can't turn the blade in time? Or is this a sign that we should lay down our weapons and heal our wounds rather than make new ones?

Only time will tell... And until that time comes, our blades shall inevitably clash over and over again.


	6. I will always be here

I can't stop thinking about him. I can't stop filling my journal with sketches of him. I can't stop thinking of the times when his blades crossed my arrows. I can't stop shuddering at the thought of his body pressed against mine, with only cold metal between us. He is supposed to be my enemy, but my heart is turning against me as well, siding with him. I had the chance to kill him, I did not. He had many chances to end me, he did not. What does all of this mean?

He is my enemy. Yet when I see the bitterness in his eyes, I want to hold him close and let him know I'm there. Maybe that's why he's so bitter. The man he looked up to disappeared, the woman he loved left him for another man, and he killed his own best friend with his own hands. Maybe that's he can't kill me. Because he can't afford to lose another constant in his life.

Maybe that's why I want to grab his face and make him look me in the eyes instead of hiding behind his hood and tell him that I'll always be here.


	7. She will come back

I always worry whenever she goes out on a solo mission. We're partners, but sometimes we need to focus on two things at once to cover more ground. It's a necessary requirement, but that doesn't mean I like it. Everytime she leaves, a gnawing unease sets into my stomach. I take my mind off of it by working, working and working... So much... But it's always there, at the back of my mind, whispering, "What if this is the one? What if this is the one from which she doesn't come back? What if you lose her on this one? It will be your fault because you weren't there to help her. To watch her back."  
Every moment simply adds to the torment, bit by bit, as hours turn to days, and days turn to weeks. Sometimes, even a month goes by until she finally returns. She always does. I keep my mask of professionalism up until we get some time alone, and then I always just... hug her. I just hold her and let my emotions leak away, while she reassures me. "I'm here, Caitlyn. I'll always be here. I'm fine. I'll always come back for you."  
It happens every time she goes away. She always comes back, sometimes a bit roughed up but always with that silly grin on her face. Even then, the worry never stops. "What if she doesn't come back this time."  
There was a knock on the door, and my heart leapt. She was back! And the door opened, and my entire body froze as her red eyes gleamed maliciously while staring at me, slowly raising her gun at me. "Bang." She whispers, mockingly firing the gun, an insane grin on her face as she returns the aim of the zap gun back on me. My eyes shift as I back up against my desk, my handgun stuck on the underside of the desk. I try to move. She moves faster.  
I try to laugh, but my body doesn't respond. I can't even move my body anymore, although some muscles twitch and spasm as some of the killing voltage that hit me still lingers in my body. I try to laugh, even as tears trail down the sides of my face, my breathing slowing... Because it's funny, how I've always worried about her not coming back. She'll come back... She always does.  
But this time around, I'm the one who is leaving... And I can't come back.


	8. It made me human

It saddened her how, everytime someone looked at her, they either held amorous feelings to the point of being dirty in their eyes, or disgust. She wasn't blind. She knew how people saw me. They saw her as a whore, a woman who had engaged in sexual acts with so many people, she had lost count. They always looked at that fact, never looking at the fact that it was her life's sustenance. She could absorb energy from the people she had intimate contact with and that, in turn, infused into her body and allowed her to survive in the human body she cherished so much. She could survive a few whispers if it meant her own happiness... But everyone had a limit, and it was getting to her. She couldn't keep up her mask of non-chalance anymore. Her smiles cracked, her eyes shone with hurt and her fingers clenched everytime she saw someone looking at her with those two emotions in there eyes.

But he... He was an exception. When he looked at her, he didn't have any of those expected reactions. He saw her... just her. He saw her for who she was, nothing more. He didn't judge her. He definitely didn't desire her. He simply... saw her. He was the first one to make her feel like a normal human. He talked to her as he would talk to anyone else, which was in that flat, focused tone of his. His golden eyes that so matched her own would gleam whenever she asked him questions. He was intelligent, and he approved of anyone gleaning to know more. She spent more time with him under the pretense of learning more about the world, about the culture. She learned about his order, about his way of life. His beliefs of Order and Balance, his role as the Eye of Twilight. She learned about his past, his regret of how he had not fought to keep his brother with him and had lost him to the shadows. She learned about how he struggled and fought hard to protect his order from the genocide by the shadow order. She learned how he got every little scar on his arms.

She liked this... He was the first person she could talk to who wasn't genuinely interested in her body. He made her feel... Warm... She felt flutters in her stomach everytime he looked at her, and felt her face heat up whenever he said something encouraging or nice. One day, she simply asked him what she thought of her. He was curious about why she asked. She told him everything about how people looked at her and how it made her want to claw her own skin off.

He grabbed a hold of her shoulders and she had to fight to stop the quiver in her as she looked up into his intense, smoldering eyes. "You are none of that, Ahri. Yes, you delve into sexuality a lot, but you do that to survive. We all do certain things to survive, Ahri. That doesn't make you anything less. That doesn't demean your value as a person... That simply makes you human, like the rest of us."

Her tears escaped her eyes before she even realized she was crying, and she spent the rest of that afternoon hugging him, her face buried into his chest. He didn't object, he didn't say anything. Only allowed her to hold onto him like an anchor until she finally drew away. Only then did he ask about her well being. She smiled. He suggested some herbal tea to make her feel better. As they stood up, she slowly, hesitantly edged her hand into his. He opened his fingers and allowed her to intertwine her slender digits with his.

For the first time in a long time, she felt simple happiness at simple gesture that was so strangely intimate. She smiled.


	9. Kindred Spirits

...

"We are always together, yet never one  
You are always beside, yet we can never touch.  
You are my heart, you are my soul.  
I love you a lot but I hate this so much.

Staying with you hurts, but I would not stay with another  
How can something be so good and be so bad?  
After all, we are never one without the other.  
And we are the reason, They write love songs so sad."

...


	10. Bring down the sun

Protector. Saviour. The Sword and Shield of the Solari. The Radiant Dawn. Nothing but lies. You are a woman built on lies. You call yourself a protector? Where were you when the masses of people were indoctrinated to believe in a false god with no choice? Where were you to protect those who had the mind to seek out knowledge that was deemed 'heresy'? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I WAS TORTURED FOR MY BELIEFS, MADE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO HAVE FREE THOUGHT?

You are a disgrace. You are just a puppet of these weak minded fools. I looked up to you. I admired you. Now I see you as nothing but another liar, holding her shield up with a light so bright that it blinds people to the fact that you have no truth in you. You fight for a cause built on tradition and forced beliefs, I fight for the people who died believing in their own free beliefs. That is why you will not win. That is why you, like the sun, will fall.

By the blood of my fallen, betrayed ancestors, I swear... The dawn will never rise again.


End file.
